Masher's Intel
During the Avengers escape from captivity, the group gathered a great amount of valuable information regarding Masher and his plans. Here is a full log of the data they acquired. Diary Entries AUDIO LOG, ENTRY ONE SIGNED IN AS 'SOLOMON MASHER KINKLEBIRD'. Promises of royalty… of leadership, of this mess of a country I've called Dog Bollock. It's useless, pathetic. The people are idiots. They kill each other in droves. Humans are weak, pathetic… I'm living proof of that. No science in the world can… save me. Tch, even as king I'm weak. It's been nearly a year since my first diagnosis back in AAC. No treatment, was what they said. Terminal. I should be dead already, in fact. I can feel it… inside my head, growing, like a poison. It's pathetic. Weak. Humans are weak. Pathetic. I'll beat this. I'll cure this body or create a new one. I will beat this. I will cheat death. AUDIO LOG, ENTRY TWO SIGNED IN AS 'KING SODNEY MASHER' The new body is… strong. Metal feels strange… though, I suppose, really I can't feel anything. My mind feels… exactly the same as a machine, even though it's all just a stream of data in reality. Is this the truth, then? Is true artificial intelligence exactly the same as the human brain? Because it feels that way. I believe the bio-transference from my mortal flesh to this machine body was a near flawless transition. My old body is… gone. Burnt. But my mind still exists, and even though it exists as computer data it is still the same mind in a better body! AI and mortal minds function the same! How easy it was, in the end, to create real thought. To be a God. AUDIO LOG, ENTRY THREE SIGNED IN AS 'KING SODNEY MASHER' Artificial Intelligence. Human brain function. They work, feel and think in the same way. What is the difference, then, logically? The machine brain lasts longer. I did my citizens a great mercy, making them into machines. Into my army. My Steel Tide. A.I can replace mortality, and why shouldn't it? Some vague lie about ethics? Free will? It's pathetic. Bio-transference will remove all weakness from the world. I have felt the power of the machine mind, and I know what is best for this world. I can save it from weakness, one way or another. My army is ready to begin the harvest. I see a utopian future through Arsinos. The world need not be entirely machine to achieve perfection… but machine shall be our instrument to gain it. AUDIO LOG, ENTRY FOUR SIGNED IN AS 'KING SODNEY MASHER' I've grown concerned with the state of the world. I have sought to create a better human, but there is no such thing. Humanity cannot be trusted. It is a virus. I am a machine God. I am perfect. These… heroes, these… Avengers. They stand in my way. The Steel Tide have abandoned me. I have come to see that even machines can be weak. I have made my new home. My hideout, Pullonia, is where I now reside, until I am ready. Here, I shall begin plans to destabilise the human race, for good. In order for the machine to stand, the human must fall. I have realised what must be done. Messages MASHER SPEAKS TO A PUBLIC AUDIENCE: 'Cultists… faithful followers… my friends! You have come to bare witness to the future. I shall not disappoint. Dog Bollock was a perfect idea. Perfect, but flawed. The instrument of my power, my Steel Tide, was flawed. Ultimately flawed. You see, humans… cannot be controlled. They are stubborn. I see now the Steel Tide Rebellion was inevitable. Genuine human loyalty… now that's the key! You may be aware that I have been creating allies of nations across Arsinos. You may believe I am incapable of completing the global purge alone. This is a folly. I require no assistance - I am perfect. These 'allies' will merely be pawns, disposed of at the first opportunity. So far, three nations have foolishly chosen this path. And all the while, my cultists, we shall sit back and watch the world burn. And what of Amun-Seth? Docile, weak machines. Their mere existence insults me. Their consciousness shall be crushed and reclaimed. The link will be re-established soon. All this, in preparation for one goal… one act, that will render the world defenceless. Very soon, my followers, you will learn of this. Which is why I turn to you! My loyal subjects! You shall become the face of the new machines. You shall become the next Steel Tide. Faster, stronger and better in every respect. Prepare for Bio-Transference, my subjects.' -+__--END OF TRANSMISSION;;-+ My king, As you know, the nation of machines now known as Amun-Seth has become leaderless. Without Sethos, the machines that formerly served you have no beacon or direction. In this state, they are weak. This makes them vulnerable. My research on this subject is complete. It is possible to reconnect your mind to the Sethian people and control the Steel Tide once more. It must be done soon… somewhere close to Amun-Seth. Once control is re-established, the harvest can begin once more. The discovery of Uranium has accelerated your plan to divide the nations into war. Many have done so without your involvement at all. I believe this, coupled with your own influence, will create the perfect distraction you wanted for your 'true' plan to take place. As I understand it, the location of Tide's control antenna is on Damnos. I suggest leaving Pullonia and infiltrating this island soon. Take the atomic missiles with you. When the world begins tearing itself apart, the right targets will present themselves. And once your true weapon has been deployed, the humans will crumble and die as they will fall under the heels of the Tide. Glory to the Machine God! -+__--END OF TRANSMISSION;;-+ The Avengers also found designs and sketches that indicate modifications to a nuclear missile. It indicates that the Uranium, along with other valuable parts of the missile, are stripped from the structure and welded into a different machine. The machine then seems to duplicate certain qualities of the missile. The 'qualities' appear to be a non-explosive of some kind, thereby this process clearer renders the missile inert. It seems as though a great deal of water is involved in this strange process. Whatever this is, Masher seems to hold these blueprints in the highest of security. They are obviously valuable to him and his plan. Tactics The Avengers found the following information with regards to fighting Masher: -Masher's counter attacking system is based on a timer, not on turns. The timer is six minutes, and he will strike any three Avengers when the time is up. Masher must hit each Avenger once, however many cycles of his counter attacks it takes, before hitting again. If, however, the team can successfully guess which Avenger will be hit before the attack happens, the attack is nullified and ignored. -Masher is not distracted by any normal means. However, he will always attack an Avenger that verbally taunts him as a priority. -When every Avenger has been hit once by Masher's counter attacks, he will use his tendrils. This means, during his next counter, every single Avenger will be hit by a powerful attack. However, during this phase, he is highly vulnerable to damage and will not counter each and every hit. If the group can cause enough damage to him, his tendril attack is stopped. -Any small amount of damage, for example caused by single attacks, will not hurt Masher enough to injure him. Only large, significant hits will have a last effect. It is recommended the Avengers use large combined attacks, or use the environment strategically, to hurt Masher. In short... If you're too lazy to read all of that, here's a brief breakdown: *Masher has been hiding in Pullonia. *Masher's plan was to stow fear and paranoia among the nations, setting them against one another and starting off a mass war. He almost suceeded. *Masher is capable, and plans, to reactivity his link with the Steel Tide and regain control of Amun-Seth. *Masher has three nukes. Two are on Damnos, where the Avengers will fight over them. The third is not accounted for. *Sethos faked his death in order to trick Masher in exposing himself. The plan worked. *Masher has a final plan in place, which is not currently known. It is believed to involved one or more of his nukes, though it won't involve detonating it.